Silent Kisses Borderlands 2 fanfic May0 Chapter 1
by DmitriTrevelyan
Summary: Her stride was different than the others here- confident, not to be messed with. A skull next to her name. Badass. He didn't plan on rubbing her the wrong way. But still, her step interested him. She had something the others didn't, at the very least. [[I'm really bad at these, sorry. It's a MayaxZero fanfic! I incorporated my headcanons etc into it so- enjoy and leave feedback!]]
1. Chapter 1

In and out, her breathe withdrew from her body and returned again, her chest rising and falling gently. A few strands of blue hair graced her face charmingly, moving so slightly every time she exhaled. Maya was at complete peace, lounging around the Crimson Raiders HQ while the others mercilessly fought skags for Zed on another one of his boring missions. They were Vault Hunters for god's sake; didn't they have more interesting things to do like, I don't know, fighting Handsome Jack or something? Her eyes closed at the thought of him again. As if he couldn't cause enough trouble already, he'd killed Roland and taken Lilith for his own devices. That alone seemed to be enough motivation for her, but it apparently wasn't enough for Axton, Salvador, and Zero. No, they seemed _dead set _on helping the others of Sanctuary first.  
She sighed, frustrated, but the breath caught in her throat as she heard footsteps near her. Mordecai? No, he was out rage-killing robots to make up for Bloodwing's death. She only knew of one other with footsteps so light as that, and emshe /emwas currently on a death date with Jack. Maya opened one eye slightly and saw exactly what she'd expected. "You're back early." She closed her eye again, shifting on the couch she was laying on. The damn thing smelled of bandits and anger- shame on her for laying where Brick had been sitting minutes earlier.  
The lone assassin, clothed in black, stood in front of her with his tense posture. Zero looked down at her (or so she thought- that mask was shifty as hell) and made a small noise. He shook his head. "Bored." Alas, he was a man of few words as usual, only murmuring when bothered by something or covered in slag. He moved closer to the couch and Maya instinctively drew her legs closer to her to make room for one more, which the assassin quietly took for himself. Maya shifted again so she could rest her head on the arm of the couch and look at Zero. He was interesting, that's for sure, only joining them because the Vault sounded like a good challenge for him. His form when sniping was beautiful and he had a perfect shot, but other than that, she didn't see him as anything special. None of them were, really, more of a ragtag team of specialized bandits who were good with guns.  
A question mark appeared on Zero's helmet, and Maya realized she'd been staring at him. "Sorry," she grumbled, tucking her face under the arm of the couch to block out the light. She shifted again uncomfortably, then stretched, her arms and legs shooting outwards and straining as she yawned. She felt a panicked hand on her leg and looked down. She'd almost kicked him in the face on accident, but with his catlike reflexes, he'd caught her leg and was now holding it with a ?! on his mask. She smiled sheepishly as another ruckus entered the room.  
Axton and Salvador barged in, smoke whisping up from the barrels of their guns, smiles on their faces and blood on their boots. They brought much needed liveliness into the room and broke up the awkwardness as they laughed and conversed about what went on with the mysterious skags.  
"And his face when you ripped his head off- priceless! I didn't expect his spine to shoot out like that!" Axton laughed, grabbing a bottle of rakk-ale from Mordecai's personal stash and popping the cap off. He took a long swig as Salvador looked over, unceremoniously flopping down into one of the chairs. "You two having fun?"  
Zero all but threw Maya's leg away from him, not used to the close quarters and not wanting to hear such snide remarks from his teammates. A neutral emoticon appeared on his mask as he shook his head. Maya chuckled under her breath, drawing her legs back in and using a nearby pillow to cover her face. "I'm trying to sleep, asshole," she remarked to Salvador. "Not like I can with all the barbarians in the room now. " She stood up slowly, stretching again, her arms straight up in the air as her fingers interlocked above her head.  
Axton let out a crisp, clear laugh and took another swig of ale. "We aren't the barbarians, trust me! The bandits out there are far worse. We caught a psycho pissing on one of their gun stashes and let me tell you- goliaths are a lot more pissy with no guns!"  
"Right," Maya chuckled again. "Anyways, I'm off to Moxxi's for a drink. I don't feel like dealing with Mordy when he realized he's missing some of his precious booze. Anyone with me?"  
Immediately Salvador perked up at the mention of Moxxi, but Axton raised an eyebrow at him. "Relax. We just got back. I don't feel like walking."  
Wordlessly, Zero stood up and looked in Maya's direction. He nodded slightly, and Maya understood. "Alright. We'll be back later." She made her way from the HQ lobby, to the hallway, behind Brick's giant figure (he didn't notice them anyways- too busy plotting things) and downstairs. She ignored Tannis, who was busy nearly shrieking to herself as she attempted to pry the iron bars off of Roland's old stash of guns and walked out into the bright sunlight of Sanctuary. She shielded her eyes, looking around at all of the wandering inhabitants. None of them could really take on Handsome Jack if he were to show up at this very instant- but then again, could she?


	2. Chapter 2

He watched, taking it in. The world outside was too bright for him, even with his protection. Humans walked by, mindless, clutching at Eridium that was out of their reach. Their doom was imminent, unless they were to change things. That's exactly what he planned to do.  
He followed her, watching her form as she walked. Her stride was different than the others here- confident, not to be messed with. A skull next to her name. Badass. He didn't plan on rubbing her the wrong way. But still, her step interested him. She had something the others didn't, at the very least.  
She made her way to Moxxi's, him following. His footsteps were quiet, silent due to his years of training. He had perfected his art, but he wanted something more. A challenge, of course. But more than that. He was bored. Provoking things that weren't meant to be provoked. The Vault was one thing, sure, but when it was all over wouldn't it have just been another battle for him? A battle won, of course. But he craved something he didn't know.  
The blasting bass of pop music turned him from his thoughts and they grew near to Moxxi's place. Maya went up the steps first, him following. At the front bar, swinging her hips slightly, stood Mad Moxxi, attractive as ever. She was humming along with the music as lights flashed against her skin. She'd always been flashy, and her bar matched her quite well. Loud music, flashing lights, good drink; no wonder a good fourth of Sanctuary's population spent their nights here. There was always entertainment, from the slot machines near the front counter to the dartboards scattered about the walls, the rusty charismatic piano sitting in the side room to the pizza that never seemed to deplete. As if that wasn't appealing enough, the giant LED leg complete with swinging action, fishnets, and a stiletto boot that hung outside the building was like a landmark, always flickering day or night.  
The shelves of whiskey were appealing enough for Maya, as she ordered a bottle for herself. "Anything for you, sugar?" Moxxi asked Zero with half lidded eyes. The assassin was certainly attractive, with that toned body, mysterious demeanor, and deep voice, but he was definitely too young for Moxxi. Of course, she thought mischievously, Maya seemed to be around his age.  
He shook his head, and Moxxi shrugged. "Have a seat, loves. I'll be right on that whiskey." She winked before whisking herself off to the back room. Maya slung herself up on the barstool, slipping a hundred dollar bill in the over-glamorized tip jar. Zero sat down on the stool with no problem, resting his forearms on the counter gently. The thumping music was enough to get his blood pumping, much like the heat of battle, but he still remained silent and calm as usual.  
Maya reached over to the slot machine, slipping money into it and pushing the lever down lazily with one hand. The slots spun and spun until the first row landed on the Eridium block… then the second… and then there was the psycho's goddamn face and the machine popped out a measly five hundred dollars, half of what she'd paid. She groaned in frustration and took the money, slapping it into the tip jar. The glowing lips that adorned the jar glowed warmingly as Zero snickered under the mask. Immediately, Maya turned and looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "Do you find that funny?"  
He raised a hand off the counter, but slowly lowered it again, choosing his words carefully. "When you get angry/Your markings glow a bright blue/It's interesting."  
Maya's hand instinctively flew to cover the Siren markings on her arm, rubbing them slightly. "I can't control that," she remarked, bitterness and snark in her voice. Zero sat up straight, his hands moving again as an exclamation point appeared on his mask.  
"I did not mean that/It glows like the morning sky/Aesthetically!" He scrambled to make an excuse, but Maya shook her head. "I understand…. Sorry. I've been worked up lately. It's been too quiet from Hyperion's side. I fear they'll strike at any moment. It's got me paranoid." Right on time, Moxxi returned from the back room with a large glass of whiskey and a basket of chicken wings.  
"Here you go, sweetie. A little something extra for the nice tip and the work you do around here." She smiled warmly, setting the items down on the counter in front of the Vault Hunters.  
"Thanks, Moxxi. You always know how to host a good time," Maya complimented, drawing the whiskey closer to her and taking a sip of it. Moxxi was about to respond when she heard the sound of vile retching coming from the other room. She tiredly rolled her eyes and went off to clean up whatever had been done and shoot the poor drunkard in the foot for ruining the carpet.  
Maya pulled the chicken wings closer and glanced over at Zero. "Want one?" She offered them to him. He took one, examining it before quickly spinning his stool until his back was to her. She saw his mask shift slightly and a few seconds later, he spun back around, the chicken wing eaten, bone and all. She stared for a second before just shaking her head and taking a wing, nibbling around the bone in between drinks of whiskey. He wasn't much of a talker but she definitely felt more comfortable around him than the others- Axton always had something up his sleeve, Salvador was loud and obnoxious. Mordecai was a good guy until he drank (which was almost all the time), then he grew easily cross and derogatory. Lilith had been alright to talk to but she wasn't here, and Brick was always busy with his team of slabs. Zero was silent yet somehow understanding, and tended to notice details the others didn't, much like Maya. He was interesting.


	3. Chapter 3

The room spun, lights flashing. She attempted staring at one spot for balance but that only made it worse. Her head ached, the pain sharpening with each thump of the music. Her stomach heaved and her hand flew to her mouth just in case, but nothing came up but a hiccup, soaked in the scent of alcohol. Maya, the goddess-like Siren from Athenis, was completely and utterly drunk.

"B-But hear me out here, …we… go up to Jack and ask nnNICLELY, nicely, and he'll just give us the vault key, right? Right? WE've been through SO MUCH, ZERO," she drawled, her upper body slung over Moxxi's front counter. Her hands reached for the tip jar but Moxxi swooped in and grabbed it before she could get to it. Maya looked up at her with foggy eyes as if discovering something new. "Why can't my tits be as big as yours?"

Moxxi sighed as a low snicker came from the inside of Zero's mask. "Come on sugar, drink up." She set a glass of water in front of the Siren and pulled the glass of ale away. Maya immediately reached for the ale again, hissing, but Moxxi just shook her head and took it away.

Zero moved his slender fingers forward to nudge the glass towards Maya. "Just drink it, okay?/It's starting to get dark out/We need to get home…" He watched as she stuck her tongue out at him then began slowly drinking the water. He'd seen drunkards plenty of times, sure. They flocked the outside of the suggestive bar nightly, even some in the light of day. But he'd never, _ever _seen Maya drunk. She was always focused, eyes on the prize. Though he guessed everyone needed to let loose sometimes? Humans were weird.

Maya slammed the glass down after drinking it all in one gulp. She grinned sleazily, glancing at Zero, then fell off her barstool and onto his chest. He held onto her with one arm, his other gripping the counter for balance. She looked up at him, lights in her eyes. "You have beautiful eyes," she drawled, one finger lazily tracing patterns on his mask. He instinctively flinched, pulling his face away and ignoring the fingerprints now on his mask.

"You are really drunk/Come on, let's just go home and/Get you to safety." With one arm still around her, he rose, his other arm leaving the counter and swooping under her legs to pick her up. She rested her head onto his chest, wiggling and wrapping her arms around his neck. He held onto her small frame tighter to not drop her. "Please stop your wiggling/You're like a worm in my arms/I will not drop you," he told her quietly, nodding once to Moxxi and heading out of the bar. She giggled as they went down the steps together.

It was quiet outside, except for a few dumbasses stumbling around, reeking of alcohol and disappointment. One, a particularly tall ex-Crimson Lanceman, staggered towards the duo and grabbed onto Maya's arm tightly. "Hey pretty lady, w-wanna come on home with us?" He laughed lowly to himself, glancing at his buddies.

"She'll stay here with me/We'll be taking our leave, now/Do not bother us." Zero glared menacingly through the mask, but all that showed through was an angry face on his mask. The drunkards roared with laughter, the Lanceman's arm growing tighter on Maya's leg. Maya shifted uncomfortably yet stilled giggled, poking the center of Zero's mask. "They think I'm pretty," she droned, hugging him the best she could.

"Come on twinkle toes, let go of the girl," the alcoholic growled, pulling on Maya's arm. Zero panicked for a split second, holding onto her tighter and pulling away. Maya let out a loud cry as the drunk pulled harder, and Zero quickly regained his calm and moved closer to the man as to not pull Maya's arm out of her socket.

"Do not mess with me./Darkness and death surround you/I will be your end." Zero said menacingly, the sword on his hip glowing brightly as he grew angrier.

"Hey Ace m-maybe you should leave the guy alone-"

"Shut up." The drunk man shoved his friend away roughly, leering at Maya. "Come on girl, just leave your douchebag friend here and come with us, we'll show you a grand time-" In a split second, Zero had flinched, and the man's head was rolling on the floor. His body stood, splurting blood before crumbling to the ground. His friends looked on in horror, before running down the road, screaming bloody murder. A single number appeared on Zero's mask as he carefully sheathed his sword, gently carrying Maya down the road and back to HQ. "Not a good challenge/Boring-ass biotches aren't fun/Let's just get you home…"

A red 0 floated on his mask in front of him as he silently repressed confusing feelings for the Siren in his arms.


	4. Chapter 4

{{Hey guys! Thank you so so much for all the feedback I've been getting on this and my other story— it's really really appreciated and surprising because I didn't think I'd get any feedback on my writing like ever uwu It's so inspiring to check my email in the mornings and see people's reviews and favorites on my stories, it's the most uplifting thing and makes me want to write more and more. I'm not entirely sure where this story is going just yet but I'm just going to keep writing until it finds direction! So thanks so much again for all the wonderful feedback!3 3 3}}

Maya couldn't hear her thoughts between the chattering of her teeth and the sound of screeching lab rats. She shot the one limping at her and he fell to the ground, dead, the scenery behind him appearing. They were at the Fridge for some goddamn reason (did this even have anything to do with getting Lilith back? She thought not!) and even though it was colder than she ever thought it could get, they still trekked on, her, Zero, Axton, and Salvador.

The Fridge could've been beautiful, she guessed, with the blanket of snow, the tall flowers growing in select places, and the occasional box of loot. But it seemed to be ruined by the stupid hoards of imbeciles- excuse her, _rats_ that she had to deal with. God knows why they thought it was a good idea to start taking Eridium and slag like it was the newest drug, but they did and they all seemed messed up in the head. The beautiful snowy landscape was now wrought with large silver buildings, broken cars scattered everywhere, and the occasional dead carcass to mess up the snow. Oh, and did she mention the random crystalisk making an appearance by suddenly rising up from the ground? The place was hell on earth- next to Caustic Caverns, being… hell under earth. Or hell under Sanctuary at least.

"C-C-Couldn't we h-have at least brought a b-blanket?!" Maya stuttered, her arms hugging herself to try and keep her warm. She could feel the cold wind blowing through her clothes as if she was wearing nothing against the weather.

"Don't worry babe, I've got this," Axton bragged, setting his gun on a broken car and undoing the front of his jacket. He slid it off his shoulders and put it around Maya, who immediately clutched it and snuggled into it.

"T-Thanks," she muttered as he grabbed his gun again. Zero watched, feeling a twinge of disgust at seeing her in his clothing. A small harumph surfaced from his mask but he just shook it off and kept walking. Salvador, however couldn't maintain such self control.

"What, are you two dating or something? Jeez, PDA much?" he teased.

Axton grinned. "Come off it, Sal. No girl could resist a war hero, sure, but we aren't an item or anything." He shook his head, chuckling. "I mean, that would be ridiculous and distracting." He made a joke of it now, giving Maya a glance.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. Ridiculous. Distracting. We don't need that type of foolishness here," Zero snarled harshly, walking quickly and leaving the others behind in shock. He'd dropped his haiku speak in sudden anger which was uncharacteristic of him. He charged forwards, sword out, slicing up every enemy he could find. What were these feelings? He didn't like them. They were strange and foreign, a slight twinge in his heart, a tug in his stomach that made him want to punch Axton in his smug little face- "Let's just split up now/Maya, you're coming with me/Just get out of here." He stormed back to them, grabbed her arm roughly, and nearly dragged her off, Axton's jacket falling off in the commotion. It landed neatly on Salvador, covering him almost completely.

"We'll just… search for the way out, then…" Axton mumbled, picking his jacket off of Salvador and giving Zero a dirty look.

When out of hearing reach, Maya pulled her arm out of Zero's grip and turned on him sharply. "What has gotten into you? You didn't have to be so rude about that." Zero turned his head so he wouldn't have to look at her but she just moved so she was in front of him again. "This isn't like you."

"Drop it already/Stop speaking like you know me/There's a vault to find." He glared at her and an angry face appeared on his mask.

She sighed, getting the message. "Fine. Let's just go then." She began walking in a random direction, one away from Salvador and Axton. The road was clear of enemies, thanks to Zero's works. As they walked, her eyes kept moving over to glance at him. This was strange, especially after what had happened the night before… Though she woke up this morning exhausted and hungover as hell, she wouldn't have made it home safety without his help. She could barely remember what happened but she could remember blood, and lots of it. They hadn't spoken about it so she assumed he didn't want it mentioned, but it still stuck in her mind that he helped her home. Not to mention when she woke up, she was covered in multiple blankets, there was a glass of water on her nightstand, and the lights were off. It almost seemed like the robotic assassin had feelings or something. Almost.

They were tired from fighting. Rat after rat surfaced from the damn ground. Maya sat on the frozen ground, panting, her arm resting on her gun. Zero stood next to her, flippantly swinging his sword around to not let his muscles rest. Maya looked up at him, watching him, until he noticed her and quickly came to a stop, slipping his sword back in the sheath. "Shall we move on now?/The door is in the distance/Just a simple walk."

"Of course, yes." She went to stand up and Zero hesitated before sticking his hand out. Maya stared at it for a second before cracking a small smile and taking it. He helped her up and bent over to grab her gun for her, handing it to her. "Thanks…" she said, embarrassed. She began making her way to the door. "Zero…" She looked over again playfully. "How about we have a race? To the door. About 100 meters."

A smiley face appeared on his helmets his body lowered to the ground. "You're on."

They were both immediately off, running at quick speeds to the large door. A rat emerged and immediately was phaselocked to the side- Maya wanted to win. The Fridge was eerily silent except for the quick footsteps of the vault hunters as they ran and ran. The door came closer and closer and suddenly Zero used Deception and turned hazily invisible, zooming ahead. He made it through the door first and jokingly began turning the crank to close the door. The door shut quickly before Maya could get to it and she reached for the crank on the other side, but it was frozen shut. It glowed red as it grew quiet on the action side of the door.

"Zero come on, open the door….!" she exclaimed. She heard a flurry of attacks on the other side of the door, before silence grew again.

"I…. I can't get the door open," he murmured in surprise. Maya paused.

"What?"

"The door is frozen shut."

"Oh my god." Maya attempted phaselocking the door in panic, but nothing happened. She moved her cold fingers in the crack in the door and tried prying the door open. "I'm going to kill you!" She heard a pause before quiet laughing through the door. "Oh my god you are dead. If you don't get this door open within five minutes I'll-"

"It'll be fine, Maya/I'll just call Brick to come here/He'll open the door." Zero said, trying to hold in laughter. All he could see was an eye glaring through the door. He could feel the hatred as she sat down on the other side of the door, with her back against it. He heard shivering.

A few seconds later, two black objects slipped through the crack and poked Maya's side. "Here." At his voice, she looked over and picked up the items. "It's so your fingers don't get cold." She held up the items. They were his gloves. She slipped them on, her cheeks turning slightly red. They were too big and only had four fingers, but they were warm. She looked at the gloves, feeling the warmth radiate from her hands, to her arms and straight to her heart. It was a strange feeling, but she just shook it off. No time for that.

Two hours and a lot of shivering and death threats later, Brick dropped from the sky with a loud thunk, having caught a ride with some of his Slabs. He found the entire situation hilarious and pried the door open with his bare hands. "You guys are ridiculous, this was so easy!" He chuckled after reuniting the two.

"Yeah, easy…" Maya jumped up, gun in one hand, and raced towards Zero. Before anyone could react, her fist flew at him and slammed into his helmet, leaving a nice big crack. An audible gasp and some hot air left the helmet.

"You… You cracked my helmet," Zero stated, in shock once again. It would've taken so much strength do that, he was intensely fearful... and impressed.

"That's for locking me out in the cold! I could've died out here! And that's- wait a second, why is your helmet hot?" Zero gave her a sheepish look and she gasped. "You have a heater built into your helmet?!" She flew at him again, but Zero caught her fist midair and held it in his ungloved hand. Maya cut her eyes over to his hand. His skin was darker, gray almost. His nails were short but he radiated warmth, which she couldn't deny was nice after the hours in the cold.

"We'll argue at home/Let's get you out of the cold/You can kill me then." He chuckled softly, holding her hand still. She sighed shaking her head slightly at him, unable to hold in quiet laughter.

On the side, Brick watched the two, one eyebrow raised, a small smirk on his face. "Mhmm. It's gonna happen."

[[Sorry for the shitty chapter! I'm having a bit of art block/depression lately so words aren't coming to me as easily. Here's to hoping the next chapter won't sound like a five year old wrote it…]]


	5. Chapter 5

The stars were strong in the dark sky, reflecting hazy light off of Zero's helmet. He gazed up at them, ignoring the giant H in the sky. He didn't want to think of anything Hyperion related, especially Helios Station and fiery Elpis shadowed behind it. The morale of the team was down at the moment and no one spoke of their missing Siren and the jackass who had taken her. They fought together in silence, making their way across Pandora, at the moment camped by a lake in the Highlands. A good-sized reddish orange tent was perched on the small island in the middle of the lake, the back of it touching the miniature mountain against the fourth side of the lake. Two or three loot boxes sat around, holding the vault hunter's items while they camped for the night. Salvador was out cold, on the ground under the tent, limbs sprawled out with his favorite gun gripped tightly in his left hand. Axton was crouched on the far end of the island with his set of tools next to him, turret out, trying to fix the scratches in the new Dahl paint job he'd done the same morning. Maya was curled up asleep, next to the tent on her own sleeping bag, and Zero, alone, was up to his knees in the water, watching the sky as he stretched his tight muscles in different yoga positions. His hands clasped together in the air, he lifted a foot off the ground and rested it on his other knee, balancing and letting himself relax. Spending his days killing people did eventually take a small toll off of him, if not his muscles than his mind. He felt himself hearing gunshots when they were all at peace, feeling blood on his suit where there wasn't, slight fear for his teammates in quiet times like this. He hadn't felt like this when he was doing simple political assassinations, so why now?

He took a second to readjust his position, his foot lightly hitting the ground and creating ripples in the calm water as he moved his arms in front of him, stretching more. After that motion, he pulled his hands back, two fingers lightly tracing the crack in his mask. He couldn't believe Maya cracked it with a single well-aimed punch; it was probably the most impressive thing he'd seen that week (other than watching Axton run around screaming like a girl, being chased by hoards of threshers). Even the strongest enemies he'd faced had never been able to crack anything on his suit, so it must've taken the ultimate strength to make that happen- a Siren's strength. It was terrifying yet… oddly satisfying, peaking his curiosity.

He stole a glance over at the sleeping Siren, watching her as he stretched his arms behind him now. He moved back into his natural stance after a few seconds and silently walked over to her, crouching before sitting down next to her. Her breathing was slow and even, something that interested him. He came from somewhere far away, where the inhabitants didn't breathe, have a heartbeat, less fingers and toes… extremely different from the humans on Pandora. He watched the soft puffs of breath escape from her mouth as she inhaled and exhaled. Reaching forwards carefully, his fingers hovered a few centimeters over her mouth, completely still. Her warm breath tumbled over his fingers, warming his hand. He felt chills up his arm as he watched, fascinated.

Suddenly she moved and he pulled his hand back quickly like a child caught in a cookie jar. He watched, eyes wide, a simple 'OnO' appearing on his mask, as she grumbled under her breath, shifting herself before letting out a soft sigh and opening her eyes slowly. Her vision was fuzzy at first, as she sat up sluggishly, trying to make sense of what was going on. "Zero….?"

He sat for a second, just staring at her, before small red slashes appeared on his mask. "I did not mean to/I mean- I wasn't trying to/I'm really sorry-" He stumbled over his words for once, moving back and away from her. Her arm shot out, grabbing his as she shook her head.

"No, no, it's fine, what were you doing though…?" She yawned, looking around to see who else was awake. Axton had set his turret aside, frustrated, and had camped himself out under the stars and was snoring loudly now.

Zero looked away sheepishly. He was red and warm for some reason he couldn't place. "I'm just- well I mean/I… am interested by/Your breathing patterns…." He moved his hand forward again, and Maya watched it hover in front of her mouth again, slightly surprised. "I don't like breathing/It is unnecessary/But you do it well….." His words hung in the air as Maya just stared at him, as if trying to compute.

"You don't…. breathe?"

He made a noise under the mask, pulling his hand away and looking to the stars again in frustration. "Where I come from, we…./We don't breathe, nor know how to/I learned from this world." The assassin looked at her again, expecting her to be disgusted among anything.

She was still watching him in surprise, her cheeks dusted a light pink. She seemed to be debating something, her eyes focused on him. Her eyes cut over at the other two, making sure they were still asleep. Then, she sat forward, crawling towards him a bit. He immediately lurched backwards. "Calm, I'm not going to hurt you…" Her voice was soft, unusual. She placed her hands on either side of his mask and began slowly pulling it off. His hands instantly placed themselves over hers, stopping her.

"Don't, you'll be afraid/I'm foreign, something weird here/Please, it'll be best…" he begged.

She shook her head, still watching him. "You know I won't be afraid. Hell, I glow blue when I'm pissed. I've seen hell and back here and I'm pretty sure seeing you won't kill me." She cracked a small smile, pulling gently again. This time he hesitated before removing his hands, letting her pull his mask off.

She pulled it off and set it to the side on the ground, her gaze never leaving him. His skin was a darker grey, his eyes deep set but brighter blue than the ocean. His hair was dark, dark and cropped short to not get in the way. His face was humanlike yet not- it was slightly longer, with sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline. His teeth were white and sharp, lips thin and dark, his cheeks a dark red at the moment. His eyebrows were shin and sharp, and a long scar ran down the left side of his face. He was unique yet so pleasing to the eye. "Zero, you're…"

"I don't wish to speak about it." He broke his haiku, turning furiously red and glaring to the side. Softly, she used her hand to turn his face back to her.

"You're handsome." At her words, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He didn't move her hand off his face. Something felt right about this. It was strange and foreign to him but he almost preferred it.

She moved forwards more, and he froze again. Her lips went to his neck, her breath swirling and ghosting over him. Chills broke out all over his body and he felt himself grow warmer, almost losing his calm demeanor yet again. She didn't touch him but her breath alone drove him crazy, his fingers wanting to run up her arms and touch her hair and her face but he didn't move for fear of scaring her. She chuckled lowly, making him stiffen, then pulled away almost grinning.

Zero shook his head as if shaking off her touch, a bitter smile coming to his face. The sun was rising, making his skin tighten and burn slightly. He reached for his mask and secured it back on his head as Maya watched in satisfaction. She stretched her arms and stood up, watching the sun over the Highland mountains, light refracting off the Dust and making the area brighter. Salvador snored loudly and Axton instinctively flung himself off the ground and aimed his gun at Salvador, mistaking him for a psycho.

"Come on." Maya held her hand out to Zero. "We've got a lot of work to do today."


End file.
